Eighteen Challenges in Contemporary Literature

Earlier today, Seth Harwood wrote about a new challenge for writers — making sure books get distributed through as many digital reading platforms as possible. His thinking dovetails nicely with Wired’s list of the “Eighteen Challenges in Contemporary Literature.” Here are some of the Wired items that mesh or flirt with what Harwood is talking about…

2. Vernacular means of everyday communication — cellphones, social networks, streaming video — are moving into areas where printed text cannot follow.

4. Means of book promotion, distribution and retail destabilized.

5. Ink-on-paper manufacturing is an outmoded, toxic industry with steeply rising costs.

8. Long tail balkanizes audiences, disrupts means of canon-building and fragments literary reputation.

11. Barriers to publication entry have crashed, enabling huge torrent of subliterary and/or nonliterary textual expression.

Get the full list here. Thanks to Ed Finn for giving us a heads up on this list.


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